Gashin: Artistic Instinct
by Volleys-chan
Summary: After the hostile takeover of Konoha, the remnants of those loyal to Naruto dispersed across the world, planning for vengeance against Danzou. Sakura, now living in a frozen tundra, finds herself a few more allies she would have never once suspected.
1. Chapter 1

Yes, this is a bit embarrassing to admit, but I am finally getting around to the rewrite of my older works I still deem worthy plots. Actually, I lied. I didn't even have a plot for this when I first started. It was my first time writing for Deidara/Sakura and all this story was was a bunch of fluff. Nothing wrong with fluff, but I thought it could be so much more.

So, taking the time, I composed this first chapter. I've been trying to write the next chapter, which is almost finished, but I like having feed back to properly write my stuff- even things I've already written thirteen chapters to. Surprisingly enough as well, I felt like this had some of the shortest chapters out of all of my work (other than a drabble/oneshot series I write for Dragon Ball Z).

Yes, I am re-uploading the new chapters onto an already existing story, but that is more for the people who added this to their update alert, so they know what is happening and that this is in fact the same story they've been reading.

I changed a few facts and totally rewrote the story-telling. It'll be the same, yet different as I go along now that this story actually has a plot line I am hoping to follow.

I am going to keep my author notes to a minimum, hopefully only at the beginning or if I end with a cliff ender in one chapter, I'll switch my author notes to the bottom so that the flow of the story isn't interrupted. If you have questions, I will try to answer them IF you have an account that I can reply to. I love to listen to your comments and answer anything I can without giving away the plot. If you have suggestions, I would love to hear them. If I feel that it works into the story line, I will give you a special thanks in the opening or my author's notes and give you the respect you deserve. However, that doesn't mean it will happen all the time or if that was the way my story was originally heading, I will inform you of that and thank you nonetheless in a private message.

As I have always requested of you, -_bows-_ please take good care of my story.

_-Volleys-chan_

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**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters**

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New snow had fallen earlier that day and because of the low population of humans this far out at the end of the known world, there was nary a footprint to be seen, no sounds to be heard, and nothing to smell but the pine trees that littered to area and made everything placid around it. It was the type of place that really made a person sit and wonder why others prefer to be in the busy metropolises or villages that were loud, crowded with people, filled with alarming feelings, and various other unsettling sensations.

Here, there was only one person in that whole area that even bothered to be around n' about the placid wonderland and that was because the land was her property. Covered head to toe in all articles of clothing, she silently wandered through the area without a sound or leaving any noticeable trail behind her. She was enjoying the clear view from behind her tinted goggles, reflecting on how her life had changed so drastically in the last few years, no doubt different from the lifestyle she had before.

Breathing in, she was able to smell the crisp smell of the pine trees and let a faint smile cross her lips behind the scarf that was keeping her lips from cracking in the extreme cold. Nothing could beat the smell of the forest. To her, it was comforting since her birthplace had just as many- if not more- trees in its forest that surrounded her village and kept it safe.

She glanced about quickly with trained eyes, quickly assessing the area about her. It was a habit that she had formed as a child and had never seen the reason to drop even though her life had gone from extremely active to almost standstill. She still had enemies about the world and though the sightings were few and far between, she didn't feel the need to let them get the drop on her.

She had a reputation to protect after all.

And she'd rather go to hell first than to look like an old has-been.

She was also known for her temper. It didn't take much in the old days to flare it and her teammates- bless their souls- knew exactly how to make her go into a rampage not all too different from her shishou's.

She mused on how they were doing. She didn't keep too good of contact with them to know who was still kicking and who had added their name to the sacred monument of the Yoinokuchi. The monument that her sensei once stood at for hours upon hours was still lying in Konoha, the place that was overrun by Ne and led by that cretin Danzo.

She pulled her mind from such thoughts. It wouldn't do to get worked up about a place that she would never return to. A place that no longer held up the morals she had sworn by, killing off her loved ones and sending them into a early grave.

Bitterness crept up her throat, leaving a bad taste in her mouth. She felt like getting wasted at the pub and carry on her shishou's tradition of never being sober. It hurt to think straight sometimes and she could feel the effects of coherent thoughts right now.

It was a dog barking in the distance that brought her from her morbid thoughts. She jerked her head in the direction of the barking, counting the barks as they came long, short, short, long, long, short, and so on.

She lifted her green jade eyes to the sky above and noticed the accumulation of clouds. There was going to be a storm tonight and it looked bad already.

She pulled a silver whistle from her pocket and blew on it with a series of short blows and long blows, pausing to hear the response. Though she could hear nothing from her own whistle, the recipient had heard all the sounds perfectly and responded accordingly in Morse code.

'SAKURA, BIG STORM BLOWINGING IN, STOP. RETURN NOW, STOP.' She spelled out from the code the dog was barking.

She returned it with 'ALRIGHT, RETURNING NOW, STOP. THANKS FOR THE HEADS UP, STOP.'

'SEE YOU IN HOUR. STOP.' Was what was replied.

She put away the whistle, taking one last look about before heading off towards the dog that had barked her the warning. Her pace quickened easily from the slow pace it had been, dashing towards the place she knew that would shelter her from the storm. It was amazing the speed she was still able to hold even though she technically was out of practice, or suppose to be anyways.

Soon there was a home front that appeared on the horizon, she quickened her pace to make it to the front door in order to see those that had been waiting for her. There were six pure blood dogs all large and powerful, two bigger than the rest. One was the lead dog of her sled. He was the eldest and wisest of all six of them.

The next biggest was a hunting dog. She was still young, but was barely smaller than her superior even though he had to be twenty years her senior. She was skilled and even though she was big, her massive paws made her mistress predict her getting even larger.

She loved the rest as well, but those two were her favorites. The other four were apart of the sled team.

"Welcome back Sakura-chan," the eldest dog greeted in the human tongue, "You managed to beat the storm that was heading in."

The woman let a sweet smile grace her unseen lips, standing at the threshold as she spoke. The weather outside was getting bad and pretty fast so she would need to corral her dogs inside quickly.

"Yes, I did Akamaru-kun, but I think I just barely did it." She told him, scratching his ear with a loving stroke before moving on to her other dogs, "Hey there guys. Head in, the storm looks bad."

Her pets turned, heading inside with her behind them, shutting the door and sealing it before the heat leaked from the room any further than it already had. She went around the house, putting thick furs in front of the windows and making sure that her home was secure before the howling wind hit her roof with a barge of snow.

Quickly she added firewood to her fireplace and turned her oven on in order to keep the house warm.

"Thanks for the heads up Akamaru-kun, I didn't even sense the storm rolling in." Sakura called out from the kitchen as she began to put the heated oven to use as she made dinner for herself and her dogs.

"It was Reimei actually," Akamaru told her with a chuckle, "she's gotten good at predicting the weather. By the way, her kills are in the cooler in the skinning room. She brought down a deer today."

"Oh good, that means we don't have to worry about food for a while," Sakura said with a smile, "I'll skin it later and we'll have some game to eat. I think I'll make some stew with the meat."

"As long as we get some," Akamaru agreed, lying down near the entrance to the kitchen, "The pups have been doing well."

"I noticed, Reimei caught some good game and it looks like you worked the others out quite a bit Akamaru. Am I going to get complaints that you're a tyrant?"

"Nah," the old dog yawned, "Cruel and unusual, maybe, but I haven't hit the tyrant level just yet. The pups need to learn to be faster, just incase. Sai-san did send you the letter about the increase of Root lookouts. You must be careful Sakura-chan, with your appearance, you stand out more than the rest."

"Yeah, yeah," Sakura waved her hand dismissively, "I'd like to see them try and find me in this frozen hell. I'm use to the cold and snow, they aren't. They'll be the ones who are sorry."

"Not if Danzou sends more than you can handle," Akamaru argued before letting his head down to rest.

"I'll fight them all, Akamaru," Sakura told him darkly, "After what they did to Kiba, I'd fight them all."

There was silence, thick tension in the air as she spoke of the dead, the ones who had been killed in their sleep the night of the invasion and never woke to see the morrow. Her team might still be alive, but many of the older generations had passed away. Kakashi, Gai, and Tsunade made it so they could escape. Tenten soon joined her sensei, leaving Neji alone with their three year old daughter. Lee sacrificed himself for half the civilians. Chouji didn't make it either, leaving Shikamaru and Ino heading off in their own directions alone. Naruto… no one knows where he disappeared to and their only contact was Sai. He knew where they all hid, but at the same time was impossible to find and if he ever was found, they'd never get it out of him.

Kiba had been her lover. They had actually been planning on settling down and having 'pups' of their own in a year or two, but that plan never lasted. He had been killed in his sleep while she had been running back to Konoha to warn all of them what one of Jiraya's contact had told her and her team…

Hana gave her the dogs that she and Kiba had been raising for a mission in Snow as well as Akamaru- as something to remember her lover by. Last she heard, Hana was doing well for herself in the outskirts some unknown village as a hunter, selling furs whenever she was in town.

Sasuke, the traitor, was still out there with a new team- team Hebi or something- still hunting down his brother and dodging the newest toys of Orochimaru who was still quite irked his beloved host got away.

As for Akatsuki, who had been after Naruto when he was 15, they withdrew from hunting Jinchuuriki. A lot of the members split once the true leader was inadvertently killed apparently. Most of them stayed in contact but some went right along their way like Akatsuki had never happened.

"I would too," Akamaru sighed, looking at her with a sad gleam in his eyes, "But I know Kiba would have wanted you to be happy, go on with life, and still fall in love and have pups."

She sniffed hotly as she pulled out the cutting board and pulled some meat out of the fridge to make their meal, "That dream was killed along with him, Akamaru. I will never love again, not like that…"

Akamaru chuckled lightly whispering, "You can never love a person the way you love another. You'll love them for different reasons and be involved in different ways. That's what makes you human."

"Sure," Sakura sighed, giving up the notion to try and outwit Akamaru. She concentrated on making dinner, putting enough in for all the residents of the house as the wind slowly howled louder.

Once dinner was ready, she and her dogs ate in silence in her home as the storm continued on. It wasn't the most extravagant place, but it was a home that did her well. It was times like these, however, when she was alone that she wished to drown herself in a bottle of sake and never come out. Yet she knew that there were a few who knew where she was and if they ever needed her, she best be sober.

She washed the dishes, put away the leftovers, and turned the oven off as well as the kitchen light. Sakura then went to work checking up on her dogs, grooming them, checking their paws from cuts and abrasions, and checked their teeth. Once she was done taking care of her dogs, she quickly double checked her supplies as well as looking at the deer Reimei had caught.

Quickly skinning the creature with practiced ease of a hunter and medic, she divided up the meat quickly and stretched the hide to dry, preparing to tan it as soon as the weather was better.

All the while, Akamaru kept her company, her other dogs, finding one of the many rooms that her home had, to sleep in. Reimei always managed to get the spot by the fireplace while Kurai usually claimed the kitchen since the oven was still hot from their meal. Akari slept in her medical lab, Hakumei slept usually on her bed until Akamaru kicked him out, and Yuumei usually found herself company sleeping in one of the spare rooms when Hakumei was forced to move.

She was readying herself for bed that night when she peaked out of her window. Unlike some of her fellow shinobi, she was highly sensitive to other chakra signatures. Most masked their chakra, making it hard to sense them, but Sakura, over the years, had become sensitive to certain signatures- like Sai's and Naruto's. She had worked on them for so many years that they were forever burned into her memory. Even if they were to mask their chakra, she could still feel them.

She stretched lightly as she entered her room, feeling the happy burn of her muscles as she pulled at them. Standing on her tippy toes, she threw her hands into the air and allowed her entire body to feel the tingling burn of being used. She was about to change as Akamaru was chasing out Hakumei and relaxing on the spot the pup had kept warm, but something captured her attention.

Though she knew not who's chakra it was, it burned through her senses like no other. She could see a brilliant light flashing even from behind her thick hides that barricaded her house from the cold air that tried to seep in on nights such as these. She almost flew to the window, pulling the hide out of the way to catch the beautiful anomaly that attacked the outside sky. Her eyes wide that the pure tower of light that cascaded from a spot deep within her property. To a normal person, they would have thought it nothing more than light, but to Sakura- a trained ex-med-nin- that the tall structure of light was the most amazing display of chakra she had ever seen. And she had seen a _lot_.

Morbid curiosity was one of Sakura's weaknesses. Ever since she had become a medic nin she had a great fascination for things that most people would cringe at or things that were strange, like Naruto's healing abilities. When the poor guy had just come back after his long training mission, she had cornered him and conducted experiments on his personnel to see if he really would heal. Nothing too terrible, but she did once break a bone to see how fast it would heal (with his permission of course).

Right now the very same curiosity was making her ache with interest as she hurried to put on her outside clothes in order to go to the scene where the light was emanating from. A mind numbing sound rumbled through the air only moments later after the light first appeared in the sky.

That only made her move faster.

Sakura called for Reimei, who had just about fallen asleep near the fire, and Akamaru, who had been right behind her the whole time, to come as her backup. Both barked in response and flanked her sides as she dashed outside and into the direction of the light that still was towering in the heavens, burning its fleeting beauty into her mind.

"Do you think it's Ne?" Akamaru asked, as he kept pace with her hurried movements, heading towards the slowly dissolving display that still thundered and roared with its power.

"No, Ne would never be that flamboyant. It's nothing I've ever seen before, but at the same time, I feel as though I know that signature."

Reimei let out a few barks, which Sakura understood completely- just like Kiba had understood Akamaru before he learned to speak the tongue of man.

"No, I don't think its one of our direct allies." She shook her head, "I would recognize the chakra. Nor do I think it's a definite enemy. An enigma." Sakura told her.

Enigmas were neither good nor bad. That usually meant they had yet to pick a side. Or perhaps the side they picked didn't effect either party in the silent war that Sakura was in against Ne. So, perhaps she'd gain an ally, or perhaps she'd gain a face and a name to an enemy.

But the only real thoughts that Sakura was thinking were _what_ the light charka was and _who_ had created it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters**

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Akamaru had been a nervous mess since they had left the sanctuary of the house. It wasn't often that Sakura dared to venture out in the middle of a blizzard, but it wasn't the first time she had done so. However, the last time she had been forced out in the middle of a storm, she had about sixteen Root members on her tail and needed a means to finish them all off in one fell swoop.

Needless to say that the only one who emerged from that fight against ninjas and nature was Sakura, who was practically like the mythological 'yuki onna' at that point in her life. However, she had come home only to treat her frostbitten flesh and crash into bed for about five days. Luckily, there had been someone with opposable thumbs to take care of her during that long week.

However, what was making him so nervous was how bad the intensity of the storm was still getting. What looked like a monster blizzard only an hour ago now looked like a flailing fish compared to what it was now! However, Sakura was not deterred. Her mind was suddenly snapped into a single-goal mind set and _that_ was to get to where the light had been and _see_ what had caused it, blizzard be forgotten!

Then again, she was a skilled kunoichi whether or not she was still a registered ninja. Though she was a 'missing' nin, she was no doubt still one of the most skilled med-nins around and it made her a few more allies than she had before. Also, she had them. Two well trained nin-dogs bred by the finest Inuzuka breeders and raised to be trackers. As long as she had them, no doubt she would come home safely.

"Rei-chan," Sakura called over the howling wind, "Can you pick up the trail of anything?"

Reimei, in Akamaru's mind, was still raw potential, but the greatest potential in the rough that he'd ever seen. She was still a pup, still being trained to be a great nin-dog and she outshined even some of his elders!

Reimei was surefooted as she dashed about in the forest, dodging the trees while still flanking Sakura's right side. She was almost as big as Akamaru was but at least half a foot shorter. However, that was saying a lot since she was barely two and he was well into his twenties. Her massive paws dug into the snow, leaving tracks that would make a bear nervous and kept the impossible fast pace Sakura was setting. Reimei might have less experience than he, but she was definitely no rookie.

Her nose rose into the air before letting out a confirmation bark, taking the lead and heading to where the carnage was. Akamaru followed up behind Sakura, almost ready to push her onto his back so they could get there and back quicker. He only refrained because he might need his energy for what was up ahead and running with less energy than he had to was a foolish puppy mistake.

Finally, after a good fifteen minutes more of sprinting at ninja speed, they had entered the area of the exploding light that had receded only minutes beforehand. The area had charred trees and barely anything standing, that much could be seen in the storm. No snow other than the new layer that the cold winds were bringing in.

Sakura paused at the entrance of the perimeter, looking at the damage with an amazed glance. The light, no… The explosion had completely demolished anything it had touched. She could smell the burning flesh even in the thick storm as the winds blew the smell of carnage to her nose. It only made her wonder what could have caused the massive destruction.

Reimei was the first to discover the answer. She gave a bark as she dashed to a mound of snow, putting her giant maw into the snow and coming up with a semi-burnt corpse. Akamaru was also pulling out corpses, but unlike the others, the one Reimei came upon still had pieces of flesh that were not completely burnt. If anything, it was in the center of the circle of destruction and thus the source.

And what Reimei soon whimpered at her made her heart pound quickly- he was still alive.

Sakura raced over to the dog as her hunter dog set down the poor body of the fool. This attack, she had already accessed was a suicide move. A kamikaze trying to take out as many as he could with his death- only, he survived.

The body was badly burned. No article of clothing could be found on the body since the explosion probably ate away at the cloth. It didn't matter how sturdy the cloth had been, nothing could- should- have remained after that amount of heat.

With just a glance, she made a basic assessment of the person. It was a man- that much she could tell by his manhood that was exposed due to his lack of clothing. Also, the most life-threatening wound was on his chest. The gapping hole that no doubt was the point of origin of the explosion. She spent no time gawking at the body, however, and went into full medic mode, beginning to identify the major life-threatening factors besides the obvious hole.

His left arm seemed to have been mangled by the explosion due to proximity, though attached faithfully despite itself. His heart, surprisingly (she had a wonderful view of it thanks to the _hole_ in his chest) was pumping devotedly despite the shock it no doubt had received from the detonation that had occurred not even one inch away from it. This man was probably as stubborn as his heart, she thought morbidly as she raced to seal the open wound shut as quickly as possible. The sooner the open wound was gone, the faster she could get out of the snow.

Sakura rushed her hands over the hole and let a surge of green glowing chakra fill the wound, disinfecting it in the process, and trying to close it up quickly and effectively.

In reality, she probably should have cared to who's life she was saving, but after being in exile for so long, despite that it was a self-inflicted exile, she had given up looking at people by society's views of them. She knew first hand how someone was not they seemed to be.

"Sakura, the storm is worsening," Akamaru warned her loudly over the howl of the winds as he approached.

"I'm almost done, then we can get the hell out of here and back to the house. What's the damage?"

"The area is chakra burned. Fascinating really, but there is a count of about 32 Root ANBU Hunters. No doubt looking for _your_ trail when they came upon his."

"Ne? You sure?" Sakura asked as she quickly set his ribs, so he wouldn't puncture a lung and die on the trip back before trying to sew up the unfinished job on his chest.

She didn't have time to spend healing it. Her fingers were numb and she was shaking from how cold it had become. If she tried to heal him out here any longer, he would die because of the temperature drop instead of his wounds.

"I know Ne when I see them," Akamaru confirmed. "He is no friend of theirs."

"Good," Sakura said, quickly shedding one of her jackets and tying him up with it until they got back, "I am going to need you to be as gentle as possible while being as fast as you can manage. I'm going to ride Rei-chan while you are going to carry our guest. Be careful. I put our lives at risk for his."

"I know," Akamaru chuckled, "But I have come to expect it."

After half an hour of the harshest blizzard Sakura ever had the discomfort of being in, Reimei finally led them to the door of her warm house. She wasted no time opening the door, ushering her dogs in before ordering them about. All four of the others were already in the living room, waiting expectantly for her return.

She was shivering like the devil himself had graced her with his presences, but still, it did not stop her from doing what needed to be done. The living room was swiftly conformed into a hospital emergency room and her medicines, her tome of healing seals, and many other healing tools covering the floor as she worked on him.

Quickly, she used her chakra to raise his internal heat. It was a hard trick to learn, but after a long while of studying Naruto's unnatural body temperature, she had discovered what made him like a heat rock. She raised his body temperature slowly, making sure the shock would not kill him before returning her attention at his other wounds. It would be useless to heal a man if he was to die of hypothermia despite how his wounds were.

Since she didn't know how much longer her own chakra would last in the large demand it took to clean, close, and repair his chest cavity, she already decided to heal the burns day by day, starting with seals to keep them from infection.

Sakura began setting all the broken bones, using her right hand with chakra to set them properly while her left was placed on his chest, healing the hole. He had managed to break his left leg, his kneecap, and sprain his right ankle as well as his right arm and about six of his fingers. She then turned back to the unfinished job on his arm.

His left arm was completely mangled. His bones were shattered and it would be a long while before it would heal. She used some of her best seals to make sure that the bones would draw back together so one day he would have use of the arm again, all the while, keeping one hand firmly on his chest, closing the hole with her glowing left hand.

Multi-tasking was a trick she had learned after surviving on her own for about five months. Since she didn't have a staff of healers with her anymore, she had to do it all by herself and as quickly and skillfully as possible at times.

She thanked the heavens that Naruto had seen it fit to teach her seals after his master had passed away. He taught her what he knew and she helped him understand the complex language that was fuinjutsu. Because of their collaboration, Sakura had been able to understand and make seals solely for the purpose of healing. What made them so effective was they barely used chakra. She had more than enough to supply the chakra feed for the seals at least three days before having to pump more into them. She used all the ones she thought best in her current situation with this unknown man.

It took her well over three hours before she could pull away for the night without having to worry over her patient's life. He was stable for now after she had closed the wound and emptied about three bags of universal blood into his system. While the universal blood was hard to get a hold of, because she had a special source of which was actually _universal_, she thought it was put to good use.

"Now," Sakura breathed out, gathering a metal bowl and filling it with hot water, "Let's see what you look like under all that grim."

Taking a rag and slowly cleaning away the blood and grim, she was finally able to observe the man behind it. His hair was surprisingly intact with only a few areas that she quickly clipped the dead, burnt ends from. She smiled as she washed away more and more, seeing the handsome man underneath all the mess.

However, what brought recollection to her mind was when she came across his hands. She had been wiping them down with a clean washcloth- now that the old one was disgustingly dirty- and to her surprise great when something clamped down on piece of cloth. The moment she saw the mouth on his hand, he was no longer her mysterious patient, but the bomber from the former Akatsuki- Deidara.

Though Akatsuki was short lived, Deidara made himself notorious by defeating Gaara! Then again, she had become quite famous that same year for her assistance in killing Sasori.

"No way," Sakura breathed as she pulled back for a moment. What was Deidara doing out here of all things?

It was illogical for him to come out here. There was nothing out here that would make him come out here. If anything, there was only a few things that would drive him away! So how in the hell did he end up blowing up 32 Root members in her backyard?

She shook her head, pushing her hand to her forehead and brought what little chakra she had left to sooth her coming headache. It was too much to think about. What in the hell was Deidara doing out here?

"Is something the matter?" Akamaru asked, suddenly on her left, ready to assist if need be.

"No, I just realize who our guest is. Deidara no Akatsuki."

Akamaru chuckled lightly before resting his head on the top of hers since she was on her knees tending to a man from the band of nuke-nin that had once gone after the Jinchuuriki. Their guest was laying on a futon next to the fire where Reimei usually slept. She no doubt was not about to give up her spot either, even with the human there.

"So? It doesn't matter much anymore. He is an enemy of Ne, that is all that counts in these days of war."

It was true. Anyone against Ne was another ally for the resistance, which were usually only nuke-nins. Shinobi villages seemed to be keeping their noses out of this war, despite the aggressive nature of Konoha that had gained during Danzou's reign. But other nuke-nins, whether they be Konoha's or not, fought in a silent war against Danzou's Ne. Anyone that was no longer pledged an allegiance to their home village were to be eradicated as all 'pests' should be.

"I just wonder why he's all the way out here though," Sakura shook her head, "Do you think…"

"Most likely, but he's not here currently." Akamaru told her.

"I want Yuumei on it once the blizzard dies down. As for me, I'm going to bed. I'm dog-tired and there is nothing more that I want to do than to sleep." Sakura told him before pulling away from her patient and looking about the mess of things she had requested, looking for something in particular.

"He could be after your life for killing Sasori," Akamaru said, looking at her curiously.

"I'm twenty-six years old, Akamaru, he would have done it ten years ago if he wanted revenge." Sakura said, shooting the theory down, "Besides, he's not going to be moving for a while, even if he was here to kill me."

She grabbed at the boxers and the warm pajama bottoms, easily maneuvering them onto her patient before loading him up with blankets. She shifted the IV bag, setting it to the proper amount of fluid to drip and after fluffing his pillow and propping up his swollen ankle, she called it good and headed to bed herself. She would work on his healing in the morning after getting her coffee and eating a balanced breakfast to give her more chakra to use.

* * *

The howling wind was not something that Sakura wanted to hear this morning. She groaned as she buried her head under her pillow, hoping to wish away the storm. Storms were generally good- wiping away her tracks and sending anyone out there for cover. No one was foolish enough to go after her in a snow storm, even the snow ninjas that lived further down south never bothered heading into the heart of a storm. Hell, they didn't even press this far into the north.

This land was the land of the top nuke-nins, outlaws, and a brand of people so stubborn that they refused to leave because of a few killer snowstorms or avalanches. The pass that connected them in the spring time (though it was white year round) was extremely dangerous to travel through in the winter. The lightest of noises usually sent an avalanche through the canyon.

Thus, only skilled shinobi could access the land at any time and all the ninjas poking around here were usually rogue.

Which was wonderful for her, since that meant they usually tried to wipe out members of Ne or any hunter nin that came their way in their own defense. With so many of them living out here, it was safe to sleep at nights and it was safe to walk around without dying her hair another color. Only few people up here, outside the nuk-ninjas, even knew what a shinobi was, let alone what a rouge one looked like.

"Sakura-chan." Akamaru's voice rumbled from the foot of the bed, "You must get up."

"Five more minutes," She whined as she snuggled under her blankets and closer to the dog, "It's freezing."

"Usually I would concede to that explanation, but you have a patient," Akamaru reminded her with a light nibble on the blankets. "You should check to see if he has survived or not."

"Fine," she grumbled as she stretched out on her bed, still not pulling the covers off of herself. "Go get my clothes and make sure they are warmer than usual! And comfy!"

She wasn't about to be dragged out of bed without at least having the satisfaction of having something warm and comfy to work in. She could hear Akamaru grumble, but it wasn't like he had this problem. _His_ coat kept him warm.

After throwing on a pair of long-johns, Sakura pulled on a pair of sweatpants, long fuzzy warm socks, a cozy old turtleneck, and a hoodie to boot. She was still freezing her butt off, but it was better than it had been moments ago while she had been forced to undress in order to redress in the warmer articles of clothing. Akamaru enjoyed watching her as she muttered and cursed while sloppily putting her clothes on from his spot on the bed. Nothing was more entertaining to him than his late master's female.

Sure, Sakura was his master now, but sometimes he still expected Kiba to come walking into the room, swoop her off her feet in some fancy move, and quell her morning grumpiness the way only he knew how to do. But then, Akamaru caught himself and reminded himself mentally that Kiba had died, leaving him in charge of taking care of Sakura. It was his duty to watch her, comfort her, protect her, and… and to even help her move on when the time for it presented itself. Kiba had loved her enough to want her to move on with life if she could.

He got up when she finally moved towards her door that lead to the hallway. With a light clicking of his nails against the wooden floors, he followed her into the common room and over to where the nuke-nin, Deidara, rested in a peaceful comatose, completely unaware of how dangerously close he had come to meeting his end the night before. Or perhaps it was the opposite way around. Perhaps he was blissfully unaware that he had survived his obvious suicide the night before and was waiting to wake up in his destined spot on the other side. Either way, he was going to wake up eventually and get one hell of a shocker.

After all, Akamaru mused with a silent chuckle, one didn't wake up in the care of the illusive (not to mention very attractive) Konoha nuke-nin Haruno Sakura on a regular basis.

He watched as his mistress went through her regular routine when nursing a patient back to full health while said patient was still unconscious. First, she checked his vitals, making sure his heart beat hadn't hastened or slowed to an abnormal rate, then from there, she checked his lungs and airways, his internal organs, made sure there was nothing contaminating the bloodstream, and finally, Sakura would check any external wounds he may have received. If there was any abnormality in his healing progress, she was sure to correct it within the check-up after stabilizing the patient. Anything she might have missed during her rushed first evaluation would be corrected now that she wasn't concentrating the stabilizing her patient's life-force. She would slowly poke and prod, observing her patient's body and its internal and external operations, making sure they were all functioning as they should during this check-up.

"What kind of nuke-nin, a male no less, has such soft, pretty hair?" Sakura mumbled after a while as she ran fingers through the golden locks.

Akamaru chuckled to himself, knowing full well that she had been refraining herself from playing with his hair since beginning her routine post-emergency check-up. Even when she had been dating Kiba, she always had this fascination with Neji's ridiculously long, silky hair. Girls, she knew, were suppose to hair long, soft, and silky hair, but men? That was the kind of conundrum that attracted her to men with long hair as fine as Neji's.

It use to make Kiba so jealous when Sakura would suddenly start running her fingers through her ANBU Captain's hair, playing with it like the two of them were intimate lovers. Of course, Kiba always twisted it around in his head, but Akamaru remembered that before Kiba and Sakura, Neji and she had been very close, due to some very intimate undercover roles they played during infiltration or recon missions.

However, Kiba and Sakura would get into these huge fights over her playing with Neji's hair and sometimes it would get out of control when they dragged Naruto, Hinata, Sai, and Shino into the whole mess. Everyone knew that Hinata, who was still seeing Shino, had been with Kiba before Sakura, and that Sakura's first time was with Naruto, before her very first seduction mission, and her second time had been Sai, ANBU's way of initiating a fully fledged kunoichi into their ranks. Sometimes, in these stupid fights the two would have, Kiba would start spouting off ludicrous notions, like Sakura having slept with Kakashi, which she hadn't, and hell, at times when he was really agitated and jealous, that she had probably slept with Lee, which would never happen since Lee seemed oblivious to the concept of having sex. By then, before he could even start ranting untrue ideas about her whoring herself around to everyone, Sakura would knock Kiba's lights out and not talk to him until she thought he had apologized enough, only after Kiba decided that he went too far and that he should apologize. They rarely got into fights like that, but when they did, it took them weeks to make up to each other since they both were such stubborn souls.

But they still loved each other. More than Sakura loved her fascination with long haired pretty boys, and more than Kiba's impractical overprotective behavior and jealously; they loved each other more. Perhaps, for ninjas, they had loved each other too much…

"The man blew himself up yesterday and his hair is still in better condition than mine!" Sakura whined as she played with the ends of his hair, still observing it, "It doesn't even have any dead-ends from what I can see. How do men like him _do_ it?"

"Sakura," Akamaru called to her, a gentle but well humored look in his eyes. "Are you not in the middle of his check up? If so, I hardly can see what a man's hair conditioning tricks benefit finishing his check-up."

Sakura's face flushed for a second, realizing what she had been doing before muttering "shut up" and getting back to her routine.

Only after thoroughly inspecting every inch of him, internally and externally, making sure there was no infections or aliments to hinder his health, feeding more chakra into the temporary healing seals, and healing his badly broken arm a bit more, Sakura deemed the man on the road to recovery.

"All we have to do is monitor him until he is awake and recovered enough to be on his own. I'd heal him as much as I could, but I would prefer to be fully charged just incase his condition worsens." Sakura told Akamaru. "He has a pretty high fever; it's the only thing I'm really worried about, but other than that, there's no abnormalities in his body. His immune system should be able to handle anything he have that I didn't catch, and his body is healing like it should. I'd give him a few weeks before he will be able to function normally enough without assistance."

Since Sakura never really knew when her allies would contact her or when her enemies would locate her, she tended to always make sure she was at full chakra capacity. It wasn't wise to deplete her chakra on something if it wasn't a life threatening situation and, no matter how much she preferred to heal her patients back to full health, she didn't have the luxury of doing so without a staff of medics to assist. At most, she would spend fifteen percent of her chakra at most on healing sessions and no more than that.

"I understand. I will get Kurai and Akari on guarding shifts during the day to monitor his condition and Reimei will observe his condition at night. If anything seems awry with him, they will fetch you. Should I still send Yuumei out after the storm to find your housemate? Or are you thinking of your long-term patient?"

"Housemate," Sakura clarified. "My patient will come to me when he's feeling ill again. And no doubt ready to kill over, _again_, while I lecture him till his ears ring about how important it is for him to pay attention to his condition. It doesn't help that he's anemic now either. Shouldn't it signal to him that he needs to take a step back from all his work and rest a bit more?"

"I have no idea what goes on in that man's head, Sakura, but I do understand that there is a heavy burden upon his shoulders that he feels he must carry." Akamaru argued calmly for the absent man.

"Well, one day he won't be able to live without assistance." Sakura huffed, ending the conversation over that man as she focused on her current patient. It was strange how peaceful someone could look, especially a shinobi, when they slept. "For now, give Yuumei a heads up and get Kurai and Akari on a watch shift. Reimei will be a little miffed that she has to share her spot by the fire, but she'll get over it."

She stared a minute longer before getting up with a sigh. She couldn't sit in front of the man all day, she had breakfast to cook, chores to finish, letters to correspond to, books to read, and training to do, whether or not there was a storm outside.

"Yes Sakura-chan," Akamaru nodded, getting up from where he had been resting to go inform the pups of their work. Somewhere in his old bones, Akamaru knew that life was going to get a little more exciting.

* * *

_A/N:_ From what I can tell from the feedback, many of you who have read the story beforehand, when I had first written it, think this is a much better version with an actual plot line involved in the story. Compared to a lot of my other stories, it is still quite short of chapters, but I simple can't add anymore to them without causing them to be useless filler. I might add filler later, but that would be dire filler needed to develop the characters in my story.

Also, for those who might have noticed, Akamaru does not always address Sakura as 'Sakura-chan'. He only does that when he is either teasing her or they are having a serious conversation. Akamaru only calls her by the honorific 'chan' because she addresses him as 'Akamaru-kun' at times.

Honorifics are difficult to properly use, so I will use them sparsely in my stories from now on.

Naruto would still call Sakura 'Sakura-chan' at every chance he gets because it is in character, and Sakura might address others as '-san' when being polite, but not too many honorifics will be used elsewhere.

I don't know how often I will be working on the chapters to these stories, but I will try to get you something at least every two weeks or so. Here's the next chapter now and it might add a bit more light onto the world, the situation, and the characters involved in the story so far as well as a promise of new characters (not OCs) that have yet to be named. Ooooo, mysterious!

I would love to hear any feedback you may have, including if there is an awkward sentence somewhere in there or if something makes no sense information wise. I will do what I can to fix it.

_-Volleys-chan_


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